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Can Diablo IV Overcome Itself?
I can’t even imagine the stress of making a follow up to one of the most iconic franchises in gaming — and that challenge is probably the core of why Diablo IV has taken so long to release.
I think if Diablo IV had not taken 475 years to develop and had come out prior to the recent Diablo II: Resurrected remake, I would have given it a fairer shake. I wouldn’t have been so recently reminded of just how great the classic action RPG era that this new installment is trying to invoke truly was. Instead, Diablo IV is now in the difficult position of having to face down three other excellent Diablo games. It has to tackle the still-wildly-popular Diablo III, the highly played (and monetized) Diablo Immortal which had the best launch in series history just a year ago, and the great and cheaper-to-buy Diablo II: Resurrected, which also just so happens to be a faithful current rendition of one of the most important games of all time.
I’m kind of good on Diablo right now. I had hoped that the new game would spur my hype to new levels, but playing the beta weekends just had me fondly considering the past.
I wasn’t asked by or paid by Blizzard to write this, and I only earn money from my writing with your generous support.
The whole time I was playing the recent and weird Diablo IV beta I found my mind wandering away from its attempts at mixing up the formula and towards the very classics its following. I remembered how I never totally finished the Diablo II remake in spite of its excellent visuals (and sound), and I missed its pitch perfect balance of fun and dark gothic vibes. Diablo IV pretends to be a return to this “era” of Diablo, but it owes more to modern day horror films than the older Diablo games tone-wise.
Diablo II: Resurrected is one of the biggest market hurdles that Diablo IV has to overcome. It’s a great update of an iconic and important game, and it’s more than worth experiencing particularly if you’ve never played it. It sells for forty dollars across all platforms (even Switch!) and goes on sale all the…
